2025 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge

Auslieferung bis zum Herbst 2028!
Delivery until Fall 2028!

(Pessac-Léognan; 68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 27% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot; a final yield of 28 hl/ha; pH 3.6; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the Smith Haut-Lafitte with Fabien Teitgen and Tracey Dobbin). A little closed initially aromatically, but that just serves to draw you in. This is a little intimate and all the more beautiful for that. Graphite and pencil shavings with a little hint of the cedar to come. There's also a waft of oak smoke. Freshly grated black chocolate. Red and darker cherry fruits. In the mouth, this is ample, full, deep and extremely layered, with lovely green Szechuan peppercorns seemingly hidden between the silky layers. There's a hint of clove too. Succulent and impressively crystalline for a wine with so much richness and depth. I love the gentle spices, with a little hoisin, a touch of five spice, but all very subtle. There's a floral note too - iris, above all. Very energetic and dynamic. Lots of Cabernet freshness that turns to sapidity on the finish. Tuly excellent with great complexity, this is a wine that requires and rewards a little patience.
96-98/100 Colin Hay

How can it be!Such elegance, yet edged with a quietly intriguing salinity. Château Smith Haut Lafitte, so often defined by its richness, might have been expected in 2025 to advance with the weight and order of a Roman formation. Instead, it transforms into a Tai Chi push, dissolving all force into something invisible. A river of violet unfolds and flows quietly, where a small boat carved from graphite carries notes of black goji berry and preserved plum candy, drifting gently forward. In its wake, the surface is tinted into a purple realm of vivid fruit. A more restrained use of new oak allows the fruit to emerge with greater clarity, without compromising the wine’s inherent depth and energy. Fabien and his team have offered a final, heartfelt tribute to Daniel Cathiard, marking a perfect and graceful farewell.
97-99/100 Alexandre Ma

This is so good, so much energy and depth, slate and wet stones holding interest and the palate expands, showing fragrant capsicum pepper, crushed mint, toasted spices, cumin, liquorice, cassis, cocoa bean, fully in the DNA of Smith Haut Lafitte. Harvest 1 to 30 September, and here they paused over that rain of September 23, as did Château Margaux - both estates were richly rewarded for this choice. 50% new oak for ageing. Last vintage of Daniel Cathiard, and expect a label commemorating the remarkable impact he had on this brilliant estate.
98/100 Jane Anson